Professional workflow for finishing 8bit HDSLR footage and applying film grain.

This tutorial demonstrates how to cleanup 8bit DSLR footage, render to a 10Bit codec for more freedom during color grading and how to apply film grain.

This workflow uses After Effects, Neat Video, Synthetic Aperture Color Finess, Colorista II and ProRes. You can adapt the workflow using your own tools and codecs, this technique is the one we used for all our examples.

Applying film grain on top of ISO noise and compression macro blocking will only make your footage dirtier.* Use this workflow or something similar to cleanup your footage before applying any film grain.

*If you are using the latest DSLRs like the Canon 5D MKIII or the new Nikons their encoders are a bit better than the older models and require less cleaning, sometimes none. Under-exposing any DSLRs will result in compression noise.